Mound House road work part of V&T bridge

Road construction related to the V&T Railway was causing headaches for commuters through Mound House, but corrections have been made to ease the congestion.

A 35 mph speed limit went into effect Friday night for the middle of Mound House to the bottom of Dump Hill so crews could install a concrete suppport for a train bridge that will cross Highway 50 East. Traffic was congested throughout the weekend and Monday.

But on Monday, Nevada Department of Transportation officials reduced the eastbound construction zone to 2,000 feet beginning just east of Pick-n-Pull and ending at Linehan Road. The 35 mph zone is reduced to one lane of travel for about 100 feet.

Westbound, the 35 mph construction zone now runs from west of Linehan Road through the construction work area, before going back to 55 mph.

NDOT Spokesman Scott Magruder said the zone should be in place for at least a month.

The bridge could be in place by January. The 48-year-old Union Pacific Railroad's Boulder Branch Bridge was formerly in Las Vegas before being purchased and moved north.

The 18-mile tourist railroad will run from Virginia City to Carson City and is modeled after the original 18th-century track. About six miles of track has been completed from Gold Hill to outside Mound House.

The recycled bridge saved the foundation $300,000. The additional costs of building concrete abutments on the new site, guardrails, bridge modifications, moving and setting the bridge will be more than $500,000.